LOS ANGELES \u2014 The Sparks are in limbo between at least two scenarios entering Sunday\u2019s WNBA trade deadline.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles will either trade away a veteran like five-time All-Star Kelsey Plum, who is an unrestricted free agent, or move forward with the team\u2019s current veteran-led roster, which features five of their top seven players who are current or former All-Stars.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to play basketball,\u201d said Plum when directly asked if she wanted to be traded.<\/p>\n
It was Plum\u2019s second practice with the team after recovering from a lower left leg injury that caused her to miss the past 11 games. The Sparks went 2-9 without their leading scorer.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, the Sparks (10-17), currently on a season-long six-game losing streak<\/a>, are five games back with 17 to play.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat I can control is what we\u2019re doing on the court with who we have,\u201d Sparks coach Lynne Roberts said. \u201cSo until I hear that we\u2019ve made a trade, these are the guys, and I\u2019m cool with that.\u201d<\/p>\n Roberts said she does not have an issue coaching through the uncertainty surrounding the trade deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cYou just show up and do your job,\u201d Roberts said<\/a>. \u201cThere\u2019s things you can\u2019t control. There\u2019s things you can. This is something I can\u2019t control. Neither can the players, so we\u2019ve got to focus on the task at hand. That\u2019s going to Portland and doing our best to beat them.\u201d<\/p>\n Without a swift turnaround, the Sparks will miss the playoffs for the sixth consecutive season. They haven\u2019t played postseason basketball since 2020 and have not won a playoff game since 2019.<\/p>\n Plum, who is on an expiring contract, did not directly answer questions<\/a> Thursday about whether she wants to re-sign with the Sparks. She was still relatively mum on her future<\/a> with the Sparks in her last media availability Friday, approximately 48 hours before the deadline.<\/p>\n \u201cI feel good, Plum said. \u201cLike I said before, I\u2019m just going to be who I am, there\u2019s nothing I can do, you know. So I\u2019m just excited to play. I haven\u2019t played in over a month, and so for me, I love to play, so I\u2019m looking forward to competing.\u201d<\/p>\n If Plum, who averaged 23.9 points and 6.4 assists in 12 games, is still on the roster for Sunday\u2019s 12:30 tipoff at the Portland Fire, she\u2019s vowed to come off the bench and be catalyst who helps her team win games.<\/p>\n \u201cYou get to see how the game is flowing,\u201d Plum said<\/a>. \u201cSometimes you need a lot more energy, sometimes you need maybe defensively some alterations, or offensively, maybe you gotta push the pace more. It just kind of depends on the game, but I would say overall, my experience coming off the bench is changing the pace of the game. Trying to change what\u2019s going on in terms of like play faster and stuff like that. I\u2019ve actually always thrived coming off the bench. I don\u2019t change who I am. I\u2019m going to be who I am.\u201d<\/p>\n The Sparks acquired Plum in a three-team trade<\/a> with the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm that involved sending the No. 2 overall pick in the 2025 draft to Seattle. The Storm sent six-time All-Star Jewell Loyd to Las Vegas.<\/p>\n Hamby \u2018not worried\u2019 about trade deadline<\/p>\n Another player who knows firsthand what it is like to be traded is three-time All-Star Dearica Hamby, who was traded by the Aces to the Sparks<\/a> when she was pregnant in January 2023.<\/p>\n